1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a barrier fastened to and between a swinging door and its jamb. The barrier comprises a net which is paid out when the door opens, and retracts when the door is closed. The barrier also includes a spring loaded mechanical return device fastened to the door jamb.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The problem of children and pets escaping through a doorway when the door is opened has long vexed householders. As it would not be feasible to maintain the door closed, the prior art has suggested barriers which expand or extend to accommodate the progressively increasing gap between the door and its jamb as the door opens. Illustrative barriers are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,000,063, issued to L. J. Hoog on Sep. 19, 1961, U.S. Pat. No. 3,378,950, issued to A. A. Butler on Apr. 23, 1968, U.S. Pat. No. 4,492,263, issued to A. W. Gebhard on Jan. 8, 1985, U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,566, issued to M. R. Miale on Mar. 31, 1987, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,174, issued to T. Brown on Nov. 29, 1988.
Gebhard provides two axially expansible tubes for securing opposing ends of a net to the door jamb. The remaining inventions include complicated, cumbersome, and possibly unsightly rigid walls and box-like housings for reinforcing, guiding, and enclosing the expansible barrier.
A window shade having a mechanical return feature provides a compact arrangement for paying out and retracting a flexible planar member. Examples are seen in U.S. Pat. No. 337,192, issued to T. S. Peck on Mar. 2, 1886, U.S. Pat. No. 834,145, issued to T. Landsberg on Oct. 23, 1906, and U.S. Pat. No. 1,823,290, issued to F. P. Prawalsky on Sep. 15, 1931.
Peck shows a plain cylindrical storage and retraction apparatus. However, this invention alone would not suit the particular function and requirements of the present invention, as will be further discussed later. The devices of Landsberg and Prawalsky illustrate the opposite tendency, providing more structure than is preferred and necessary.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.